1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for producing sound in response to movement of a body in three-dimensional space. The invention especially relates to the conversion of movement of a body to make music.
2. Background of the Invention
At least as early as 1924, interest was being shown in the concept of making sound in response to the position of an object in space and, in 1928 a U.S. Pat. No. 1,661,058 issued to Theremin for a method and apparatus for generating sound. Theremin's apparatus comprised active oscillator elements which reacted to the passive presence of a body and the environment to produce audible sound. That apparatus bears little resemblance to more recent applications of the concept.
Much more recently, due, perhaps, to the emergence of music synthesizer technology and computer technology, advances have been made in the conversion of movement to music. Usually the movement is human movement.
Exemplary prior art in the field is a variety of U.S. patents and other published articles. Zwosta in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,324 issued Dec. 9, 1986 teaches the concept of attaching transducer devices to various parts of the human body, which devices generate signals in response to motion of the associated body part and the signals are converted to music. The transducers are motion sensitive devices. Niinomi in U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,339 issued Dec. 12, 1972 uses devices responsive to movement caused by muscle expansion or contraction to effect playing of an electronic musical instrument. Chadabe in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,526,078 and 4,716,804 respectively issued Jul. 2, 1985 and Jan. 5, 1988 are merely computerized versions of the Theremin technique. Veitch in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,400 issued on Apr. 19, 1988 uses optical means to determine the position of a person within a monitored area and uses that information to synthesize music. Also exemplary subject matter in the field are the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,241 issued Aug. 23, 1977 to Liu which discloses a plurality of music producing keys on the underside of a shoe and U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,260 issued May 5, 1987 to Rumsey which discloses a sound producing device producing different notes when rotated.
Another previous project utilizing visual means for providing positional information concerning a performer was carried out by Professor Collinge in conjunction with the E.D.A.M. Performing Arts Society. This project, the "Occulus Renae", consisted of a video camera connected through a digitizer to a computer. The camera was mounted over the top of a stage area in which a dancer performed. The motions of the dancer as viewed from above were used to trigger synthesizers in accordance with various algorithms programmed into the computer. The image produced was two-dimensional and only a single "indication of motion", parameter was used.
Another, somewhat related project was one which controlled and manipulated prerecorded or sequenced sounds rather than actually generating sounds. This project was carried out by Michel Waisvisz in 1986 and concerned a device worn by a performer which senses relative position and orientation and controls pitch, timbre and selection of synthesizer patches through the M.I.D.I. (Musical Instruments Digital Interface) protocol. This device requires hard wiring between the performer and the computer and the use of cables seriously limits the mobility of the performer.